Three Powerball Winners Come Forward

Aug. 27, 2001 — -- A laid-off telecommunications worker from Ashland, Ky., and a medical records clerk in Minneapolis came forward today to claim their shares of Saturday's $295 million Powerball jackpot.

David Edwards stepped up as the first of four Powerball ticket holders who matched all six numbers for Saturday's $294.8 million jackpot.

"I was just inundated. I didn't know how to feel. I was in shock at the time. Really happy," he said of the moment late Saturday night when he realized he had struck it rich.

Edwards was recently laid off from his job in the telecommunications field, and has been needing money for back surgery.

"This is a poor man's dream," he said.

This afternoon, Minnesota lottery officials held a news conference with Sheryel Hanuman, the second lucky Powerball player.

At a new conference in New Hampshire this afternoon, lawyer Terrence Garmey said that his clients, Pat and Irwin Wales, had also won.

The remaining winner has yet to be identified. That ticket was purchased in Delaware.

‘I Was Just Barely Making It’

Edwards said he lost his health insurance when he was laid off, and had only three more unemployment checks left.

"I didn't have no money to get any insurance, I didn't really have enough money to pay off all my bills," he said today on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "I was just barely making it."

Appearing happy and exhausted, Edwards attended a news conference today to receive an oversized check for $41.4 million. He opted for a single lump-sum payment instead of $73 million paid over 25 years.

"I think I can handle my own money, with the help of advisers," the 46-year-old divorced father told Good Morning America. Edwards has an 11-year-old daughter.

He admitted he had served prison time for robbery when he was younger, but said the lottery money would be a chance for him to do good.

He bought the lucky ticket at Clark's Pump N Shop in Ashland, saying he just felt like giving the game a shot.

He said he normally picks a set of particular numbers for the lottery, including anniversaries and birthdays, but this time he tried something new.

"I looked at my fiancée and said, 'I'm just going to let these numbers pick me.'"

Edwards said he had stopped playing the lottery since being laid off three months ago, but decided to splurge on $7 worth of tickets.

At the news conference, Edwards said he did not have a long wish list for his new fortune, but admitted he wanted to trade in his 1993 Buick Roadmaster for a new convertible Rolls Royce.

‘It Feels Like a Long and Detailed Dream’

In Minneapolis, Hanuman said she still couldn't believe she had become an instant millionaire with a $5 Quick Pick ticket she bought Saturday morning before attending a wedding.

"I'm still in shock," she admitted, saying the past day had felt like a "long and detailed dream" that could end at any minute.

Like Edwards, she chose the lump-sum payout. She said she would use the money to take care of her family. Hanuman, who said she is in her 40s, has a husband and three sons, aged 9, 10 and 11.

Her husband, who did not attend the news conference with her, was also stunned by their windfall.

"I think he's in shock," she said. "He hasn't said a whole lot."

Perhaps the strangest part of winning, Hanuman said, was that she was not a regular lottery player.

"I've played it four times in my entire life."

Lawyer Says Maine Couple Has Lucky Numbers

The third winning ticket was sold in Rollinsford, N.H., a small town near the Maine border. The Waleses, who live in Buxton, Maine, had the lucky ticket, their lawyer said at a news conference at New Hampshire State Lottery headquarters.

If they are confirmed as winners, New Hampshire lottery officials are expected to announce more information on the pair.

Two recent jackpot winners in New Hampshire never came forward in person, instead hiring a lawyer and setting up a trust to avoid publicity about their windfall.

The holder of the final winning ticket has not yet come forward, but lottery officials said it was purchased in Delaware.

Saturday's jackpot was the second largest in the history of Powerball, which is played in 21 states and the District of Columbia, and the third largest lottery jackpot ever.

In 1998, the Powerball jackpot hit $295.7 million, and in 2000, the Big Game jackpot reached $363 million.

The winning numbers drawn Saturday night in Des Moines, Iowa,were 8, 17, 22, 42 and 47, plus the Powerball number of 21.

ABCNEWS' John Berman in Rollinsford, N.H., contributed to this report.